Oxygène

Sigh

bleep bloop gleep glorp music (derogatory)

Not sure how to feel about this one

Negative

Meh, this album was basically background music. Nothing too offensive to the ears, but it felt like one long videogame soundtrack.

I didn’t hate this but it’s also pretty forgettable. It’s also easy to see why back when it was released it would be seen as ahead of its time and futuristic, but now seems almost quaint. Some nice melodies here and there but some ideas needed fleshing out more

I like beep boop music as much as the next guy but this is not it for me.

++: Oxygène (Part III), Oxygène (Part IV), Oxygène (Part VI) +: Oxygène (Part I), Oxygène (Part V) +-: Oxygène (Part II) 6,0/10

I love this so much, never been easier to give out 5 stars

I can dig ambient stuff, but this is too bleep bloop new age-y for me. I need melodies sorry!!!!

Quite boring. A weak palette of synthesizer sounds (which I don’t think can be wholly blamed on technology of the era, other people were making interesting sounds), far too many “sound effects” without any apparent meaning or artistic rationale, shallow conception of musical composition. It’s Really Poor, 2/10.

It's very hard to explain what I mean but this is exactly what an album called "Oxygen" should sound like

Interesting background noise

Somnambulant.

Solid liquid

I have no issue with background music, or even synth stuff, but this was rather bland. Perhaps a bit more melody (which was good when present) and less 70s laser shots would have been better. 5/10

4/10

maybe re-listen starting below

i kept hearing crumbs of these songs used as ringtones by my father

atmospheric, with lovely grooves and melodies - still a rewarding listen

Space. The final something. Haven’t heard sounds quite like this. It makes me think of if Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange had more dance sequences. While spacey it seems dated in the synths its uses. Rhythms are limited probably due to tech capabilities. However what they were able to layer over top is highly interesting. Love the melodic strings and whirring noises

I felt like a character in a Safdie Bros movie driving into work this morn--every passerby a potential enemy, every turn another catastrophe. Cool synths, bro! "As of 2016 it had sold an estimated 18 million copies and is one of the best-selling French, electronic and instrumental albums in history." !!!

I like it. Very chill.

bad

This high-rated 70s instrumental album is quite focused on synths and has been very influential to a lot of different people and styles. The effects used on the synths makes it sound borderline oceanic and stupidly wet. I found myself only getting into and understanding it only in the last two parts of the album-lengthed song. I found it a bit challenging for majority of the runtime. I think revisit is a must for this one to come to a concrete conclusion, so 3 stars is the rating I'm gonna go with. I think this was really well done and I can see why people rate it highly. Highlight Song/s: "Oxygène (Part IV)"

Interesting but didn't grab me as much as I wanted. Sounds very of it's time and probably a bit lost on me having heard modern electronic music.

It was pleasant, and certainly, for its time, remarkable in its innovation.

I've been getting into ambient recently, especially psychedelic variations. This is pretty dated 8 bit moog type music but is composed well and done well. I doubt I will ever listen to this again but will check out his more modern stuff.

Ooo, yummy. Love ambient synth stuff. I have a colleague at work who has called synths "cozy". I agree. Might be an 80s baby thing but they are soothing and delightful. It was already a 5 but bonus points for that album cover.

Ambient

An absolutely *epic* foundational piece of electronic music history. A soundtrack for the future we never got, but that we deserved. When the bass synch comes in on Pt. 5 it gets me moving every single time. What else can I say but this album must be listened to and cherished.

High 3. Like Part 2 the most

I was into this from the start, I love some ambient, electronic, psychedelic sounds! Would definitely listen to this again and look for it on vinyl!

I was flabbergasted to find that I know a couple of these songs. The album cover looks familiar, but I came in to this pretty sure this would be my first listen. But as a lover of synth, I found that not only was the fist song, known to me, but I must have heard a version it played over 300 times. Oxygène, Pt 2 is included in Swinth, a C64 music visualization program created by Carl A. Meahl Jr. in 1985 and it has a half dozen or so synth tunes with the visualizer and this is one of them. It is absolutely one of my favorite things and the rest of the album is pretty darn great as well. Thanks for the quick trip back to the late 1980's.

50 years later and it still sounds fresh.

Not bad

It’s the one with that song of his on, de doooo de do de do. Quite nice, thought I was about to have to face a demogorgon at points.

Just not for me

Cool sounds, but I can’t listen to this

Interesting and good. Enjoyed the sound.

I feel like Daft Punk got ideas from JMJ. This was their prototype.

Damn! This album is so cool!! The first track made me thing of A Clockwork Orange. I'm really liking the second track. Has some serious psytrance vibes! I can't believe this album is from 1976! Oh shit! I know Oxygene Pt. 4 I had a couple different versions saved in Spotify. OOOH the left to right channel shifting on Pt. 5 is cool. Okay this album gets 5 stars. That was so dope!

Space-age fart sounds were probably more exciting back in the day.

Occasionally threatened to get interesting but mostly just okay background music to play a game of Terraforming Mars to. It's hardly Kraftwerk.

het moet veel moeite gekost hebben om het gesnurk van de producer er uit te filteren

Good.

этого я не понял что за аудиоприключение очень футуристично, но скучно и меня не цепляет 2.3

I love me some Jean Michel Jarre. This one, while not my favorite is still pretty good.

Track By Track Oxygène, Pt. 1 - It sounds like it could be the opening to a space film/TV show yes, but also a video game. The ambient whirring could be embellishing an adventure game landscape or something. At first, I’m a little indifferent to this music. Oxygène Pt. 2 - A continuation really of pt. 2. Quite good arpeggios climbing. I’m getting laser gun sounds for this one. Like a desolate war scape or something. Also a voyage. Bit more of a beat in this one, like you can move to it a little more. Oxygène Pt. 3 - I’m now thinking it could be the soundtrack to a film like Dune. But the ‘80s one, not the recent one. Does sound very of the time. Can also appreciate this may have sounded groundbreaking when it came out. Oxygène Pt. 4 - This sounds like it is more of a song, or tune rather than soundtrack type music. Nice driving rhythm. Quite dramatic! Decent. Oxygène Pt. 5 - This is like arriving in a new place, onto a lush forest plain or a golden landscape or something similar. Flashes of light sparkle and appear in time with the synth melody notes. It has a feeling of home or relief. More settled. Even though not all of it feels totally resolved. My imagination is acting more vividly now, I feel more immersed in the album’s world at this point. I prefer the slower ambient moments on this record. Didn’t like when it sped up. Oxygène Pt. 6 - Very sparse atmospheric beginning with the weather sounds. This sounds like it’s ascending (but also descending) into space or the sky. Overall Review: This was certainly different! I’d heard of Jarre before but never listened to his music. It was quite nice to immerse myself in. There were pretty moments and can appreciate his very distinctive, contained sound and style. I’m not sure it will be something that I’d listen to again for myself, but can certainly appreciate it in context and as a soundtrack or imaginative tool! 2.4/5 Favourite Songs: Oxygène, Pt. 5

I think you had to be there.

If this is lift music I would take the lift more often This was better than I expected to be honest but I was listening on headphones whilst lying about and web surfing. I can’t imagine sticking this on to my hi-fi for an active listening session but I respect that it was an early pathway synth album that began a whole load of different stuff including some “chill out” music.

As a young teen, I used to turn off the lights and explore space listening to Jean Michel-Jarre. This hasn’t aged well. Boring. A 2.

I thought I’d be more bored with this one, but it was a pretty cool album. Very futuristic, especially for its time. Though I don’t think I’ll ever listen to it again.

JMJ is a very important part of my musical journey. It’s hard now to explain just how futuristic this was when it appeared. Literally blew my mind as a small child. This album and Equinoxe are foundation stones to my musical tastes. Impossible to give this anything other than a 5.

Atmospheric and iconic (parts 2 and 4 especially), should definitely be on the list, but I don't see myself revisiting. It's good, just not "me" good.

My first thought was, "Oh boy, electronic background sounds," but this proved more aurally interesting than I had imagined. It conjures sci-fi images as it moves smoothly from track to track and wraps up with a track that brings to mind waves caressing the beach. I could listen to this again.

When I was 11 ish I had a Spanish pen pall who sent me a JMJ live album and i strongly remember Oxygene pt 4 as the banger and thinking JMJ was the cutting edge with his electro pop and lasers. Listening again nearly 40 years later and its an enjoyable listen although does feel dated. Surprisingly ambient in the earlier tracks. The ease a which this sound could be achieved today really undercuts the appreciation of the effort/skill it must have required back in the day.

Oxygène Ladies and gentlemen, enter the mysterious domain of Tony Le Mesmer. Behold the cage of Katmandu. The void of solitude. The dance of Diabalos. The shroud. The forces turn upon their axis. The summoning of the spirits of Talamachus. It is hard to divorce Pt 4 from things like Tony le Mesmer and its ubiquitous TV shorthand for mystery growing up in the 80s, but it is genuinely a fantastic track, one of many on here. Because of those associations I’ve never thought to listen to this album, and it's a shame as it is a great album that interestingly predates both Low and Music For Airports. It doesn’t quite go into the darker corners of Low, or stay within the same floaty atmosphere of Music for Airports, mixing moments of nascent Ambient with nascent Synth Pop. Like all early electronic music the influence of Kraftwerk and early 70s German music is clear, and like a lot of early synthesiser music you can sometimes see the joins. For all the charm that brings, it is also notable how great it still sounds, he definitely has an eye for catchy melodic hooks and electronic rhythms, and it’s consistently engaging, interesting and enjoyable to listen to. I don’t really recall many people citing him as an influence, when he clearly is, not just on fellow French bands like Air and Daft Punk. Perhaps it’s because of all the son et lumiere connotations of Pt 4 and perhaps because in the UK we tend to look down on European pop music it's probably dismissed too easily, when in fact it's an excellent album. I don’t quite think it reaches a 5 though, for all it’s quality it’s perhaps missing some of the sophistication, oddness and immersiveness of some of the groups it was influenced by and who it influenced, so I’ll go for a very high 4. 🎩🎩🎩🎩 Playlist submission: Oxygène Pt 2.

not for me

nice ambience

Gosto mais do conceito que a execução. Estava excited por um álbum deste género, mas acaba por não impressionar

Not my favorite album of instrumental, non-dance electronic music, but it's good. Ahead of its time, for sure.

Day 57 Trying to overcome my rapid Francophobia and the good news is I'm not particularly more hateful. I just don't have enough of a good reason to be less hateful. Fav track: Oxygène, Pt. 4

GREAT instrumental LIusten. From smooth ambient sounds to racing thoughts of musical expressions.

This album would compliment a space exploration perfectly however just to listen to its nothing crazy. Not unlistenable like bjork by any means

A little boring for me. It kinda gives me the vibes of background music for a game or something. But I wouldn’t choose to put it on really ever. Cool album cover though.

Sounds way far out for its time, album cover looks iconic too despite it being my first time seeing it. Crazy that 'ambient' could mean this detailed then, sounds so informative to future chilled-out electronic styles.

Ambient French bollocks (praise)

That was/is boring. The third song especially. I like meditative/ambient music. But this was a bit too "spacy". And for what? Who knows... 2 "give me Eno or William Basinski instead" stars.

Good for sampling. Sounds like it was used in samples by Daft Punk

3, but only because it reminds me of Mass Effect

This is an absolute classic. Tons of reviews complain about this being generic or waiting room music, but the entire point is that this guy was so genre defining that the sound became widespread.

somehow i'd never heard this before and i have no idea why cos like, this album feels like it was engineered to make me give it a 5. its so fuckin good. he really was working some magic to make synths sound this good in the mid 70s. wow. not really much point in trying to talk about tracks given its kinda just a continuous piece morohing between different sounds but, what a journey it goes on.. its so like... atmospheric? it definitely feels like it's taking me somewhere. and buddy u better believe im going with.. now that i think about it..... i guess i do vaguely remember part of it being on one of the radio stations in gta 4. so really it's my bad for not looking into it more. hmm.

Ethereal and surprisingly good. A masterpiece to listen to at any time of day and mood.

This album gave me a headache, or if it didn't, it worsened it.

Cool sounds for 1976. This holds up and seems before it’s time. Nice feel to it that doesn’t overplay its hand when it comes to digital music.

A musical masterpiece or just a bit of twizzly electronica? I feel the latter really 😐

I'm not normally one to complain about this list's attempts at diversity, but even I think it is a bit far to feel the need to include extra planetary contributions.

Why did I need to listen to this? Am I an RPG character walk into a checkpoint?

I guess it is music

Certainly technologically innovative for its time but not terribly interesting of a listen now

An electronica classic. Almost everything that anybody does in just about every genre related to electronic music began as an idea on this album, or with Tangerine Dream during the same era. OXYGENE blew minds and inspired incalculable number of musicians.

Interesting for something so early into electronica but really not my jam

1. 4.5 2. 5 3. 4 1. 3.5 2. 4.5 3. 4

I'm getting a weird vibe from this album. On one hand, i'm actually impressed that something like this came out in 1976, on the other hand, im getting a cool video game soundtrack vibe from this. But Mostly, im getting kind of a whatever vibe from this. And that's truly just how i felt listening to this for the most part, like I was waiting for a big payoff, and nothing came of it. Another instance of "pioneering, necessary to know, but not one to revisit. 2/5.

muy flashero que sea del 76, no es mi taza de té!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still revolutionary. Still an album that doesn't move me much. Important, but pretty boring by today standards.

This is a pretty interesting one. I’ve been meaning to check out Jean-Michel Jarre ever since hearing one of his tracks on a Pure Moods compilation CD way back in the day, and I’m glad I finally did because Oxygène is a really cool album. For 1976, this feels incredibly ahead of its time. Everything is electronic, but it never feels cold or mechanical. It’s dreamy, soothing, relaxing, and incredibly spacey. Honestly, it makes me think of floating through space in some late-’70s or early-’80s B-movie, with this playing over the trailer. And I mean that as a compliment. There are so many strange little electronic sounds and textures throughout that I can only imagine how cutting-edge this must have sounded when it first came out. There are a few stretches where the melodies get pretty sparse and things start to feel repetitive. Some of the sound effects and synth textures also start becoming familiar after a while, to the point where it occasionally feels like the album is running a little low on new ideas. There obviously aren’t many huge, high-energy moments either. This is a very low-key, laid-back album, so I can absolutely understand somebody finding it boring. Thankfully, though, it isn’t especially long, so it never really wears out its welcome. There’s still a lot here that I found interesting, especially when you keep in mind just how early this was for this kind of fully electronic music. Really cool stuff. 4/5

Electronic, ambient, synth-pop, space music, new-age, electropop.

sure, 2 songs were enough

Pretty decent ambient music.

I listened to this in the car, and for large sections forgot it was on. Not offensive, but didn’t generate any interest from me

Wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this

Fuckin slaps, Jesus H Christ. Reading up on it afterwards was a nice bit of musical history too. Would send someone into a K Hole at 5.39 at an afters, unreal stuff

It's a bit too Tomorrow's World for me

Never underestimate just how groundbreaking this was. Not listened to it for years and so cohesive and immersive.

Perhaps it was my mindset today but no vibes with this one. Sorry jean-michel

MY KINDA MUSIC

Much respect to this guy for coming out with this type of music and that era in revolutionizing electronic music for future artists like Daft Punk. That being said this album was extremely boring and uninteresting

Planetarium music.